IrishCream

Peas in cheese sauce. Enough said.

I find this topic fascinating. My lawyer husband is no help...he says that owners of private property have the right to make the rules. So my question is what about take-out? How silly is it that we can be banned from photographing food INSIDE the restaurant but not outside?

I'll back up Carolyn. Oakland Airport, for sure. It's a nice small airport. And if you land during day time you get beautiful views of the Bay and the SF skyline as you drive north to Napa. If you are renting a car, your best bet is to time it so you land late morning. You'll beat rush hour. [Host's note: To minimise the load on our servers, this topic has been split. The discussion continues here.]

I'm getting nervous that we won't see the whole goat BBQ before the noon deadline. I so want to see it in all its glory.

I am so enjoying this. So is my husband...I've been reading him parts...he's an avid backyard vegetable/fruit gardener. He wants to know where you get the seeds for some of the more obscure vegies? And we both want to know if you will ever consider CSA for the East Bay? We'd sign up! Thank you.

Well, that is food science, isn't it? I'm half way through reading "Fast Food Nation" which makes it quite clear that McDonald's ground-breaking success was based on their willingness to push the frontiers of food science in order to increase profits (along with treating their employees like crap).

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I just discovered they have invaded my main pantry. Grrrrrrrr!

I lived in New England for years and dealt with the cockroach problem. I lived in Houston for years and dealt with the ants, cockroaches, and the really big cockroaches (the 3 inch long ones that fly across the room and land on you when you are changing your clothes...yes, think the worst). But not until I moved to SF did I encounter "pantry moths". I am so frustrated. When I first noticed them they were contained in my chile cabinet. Whole dried chiles, ground chile, and nuts. But I have a bug phobia. I could not possibly clean out that cabinet. By the time my husband agreed to do it, the moths had invaded the baking cabinet...all my various flours, sugars, chocolates, etc., gone. So we (he) threw all away, washed and sterilized with bleach those cabinets. Still empty...I don't know if if I can ever bring myself to use them again. We trapped many of the moths with Safer traps. We had a moth hiatus for a few weeks.....but they're back. I only have two cupboards left: the herb cupboard and the pantry which between them is $1000's worth of food. Everyday when I open the pantry I have a feeling of dread. If a moth flies out I am doomed. Oh, I also had the house fumigated...didn't bother the damn moths one bit. Someone must have a solution. Please help!

During World War 2 (and way before) engineering geniuses came up with ways to preserve food by freezing, canning, drying. After the war, when USA went through a time of affluence coupled with the advent of television/commercials, the products were marketed as being convenient. And they were. There is no question it is easier to heat a can of green beans than cook them from scratch. The commercials, which were a new phenomenon, were able to convince the majority of housewives. So our generation got raised thinking Campbell's Cream of Mushroom tasted good. Luckily, people like Alice Waters showed up to direct us back to the earth. But to get to my point...one of my best friends was a Chef at the Texas Governor's mansion. She worked for Ann Richards and then worked for George Bush. She chose not to go to Washington but when he is in Crawford he asks for her and she goes. And I assure you that she doesn't use Campbell's soups in her cooking. The book is political propaganda.

I think that your transition to being a writer will be quite smooth. You are already there in my opinion. Thank you for sharing your life...and best wishes.

You really must post the entire Thanksgiving menu...with recipes if possible. Pretty please? Lovely meal. Lovely blog. Thank you.

Not really. Rock salt is less refined. I don't think it will poison you. But since it isn't sold for culinary purposes who knows how it was handled. Most of our culinary salts including regular table salt and kosher salt originate with rock salt deposits. The difference is that rock salt is mined. For the culinary salts, water is injected into the rock salt deposits, dissolving them and creating a brine which is then filtered and dried removing some impurities, supposedly. Sea salt is produced from evaporation of sea water as opposed to rock salt deposits.

That sounds interesting, Dave. How do you reheat the baked potatoes? Have you ever tried this method? While it sounds lovely, it doesn't accomplish the basic goal which is to make the mashed potatoes way ahead of time. In the Pam Anderson recipe referenced above, the potatoes are mashed with all the liquid while freshly cooked (I made them a day ahead) so they don't suffer from the overnight steamed effect. Nothing to do the day of service except stir melted butter into them...and they hold well if dinner gets delayed. I will admit they turned out much fluffier and lighter than I am used to...more like a potato puree a la Robuchon without all the butter.

I'm going to confirm Steven's rec of Pam Anderson's recipe. I just tried it for the first time this week and it worked. Most make-ahead masher recipes call for cream cheese, sour cream and/or eggs none of which I care to use. This recipe uses standard ingredients. Due to an unforeseen delay I had to leave the potatoes in the double boiler for over an hour and they held beautifully. (Instead of mixing in the butter as soon as they entered the double boiler, I placed room-temp butter under the potatoes and stirred it in just before serving).

Thanks for the replies! What surprises me is you all cook your potatoes unpeeled. The only time I do that is with white (New Rose) potatoes for potato salad. I've always pre-peeled mashers. For me mashed potatoes are last minute hassle enough even though I love them. And doesn't having to peel them make them cool down a bit much to melt the butter, etc?

I usually make mashed potatoes from russets but I've been seeing lots of good press and recipes using Yukon Golds. So tonight I tried them...oh my! The potatoes looked perfectly unblemished on the outside but as soon as I started peeling them I discovered they all had strange purplish dark spots inside. Quite odd. I removed the spots as best I could. Then, despite the fact I cut them into very large chunks, they fell apart after only 12 minutes of simmering. I had the timer set for 15 but luckily I checked. I was stunned. So are Yukon Golds that different? Did I get a bad batch? What are your experiences?

Agreed. What also bothers me is that this behind the scenes policy towards trolls, shills and slanderers makes them appear the same as perfectly legitimate former members. In an ideal world I completely agree that we should all be forthright about our identities. Sadly, I don't live in that ideal world. I support the need for pseudonyms on the internet...which doesn't solve the very real problem of what to do when an anonymous poster obviously has a definite personal agenda that disrupts a thread. In the past this has often been handled quite well by the membership. This is a sharp bunch! I've seen the membership question and reveal shills dozens of times. It was never called a witch hunt! Why is this situation so different?

I have some liquers that are probably 10 years old and it never even dawned on me that might be a problem. Good question.

I wasn't as fortunate as others in my only octopus eating experience which was in Greece last year. Pictures of octopus in Greece

Wow. Who donates the food and wine? And who gets credit for it? I must say I am surprised that the restaurant doesn't donate it's own food and wine. But surely that explains why the food at the Beard House might be sub-par.

Good recommendation! Having eaten this at Uglesich's many times over the years, I can attest this recipe is excellent. I personally prefer a non-mayo based remoulade sauce but this is the way it is usually served. Lately, I've been following a European method for dealing with end of the season green cherry or full-size tomatoes. Remove the entire branch, hang it in a cool room temperature place, and let them ripen....they actually do ripen and taste great, far better than grocery store tomatoes.

I am wondering if anyone has tried any of the recipes? They look workable.

Jaymes, you are right. The first page of every chapter is a list of ingredients. The second page starts with the heading "preparation" and then segues into the rich emotional themes of the book. But instructions for the recipe are always given.

I thought the title derived from the fact that in Mexico hot chocolate is made by adding chunks of chocolate to boiling water (as opposd to milk). And yes, the double entendre is that Tita (the heroine) was boiling with lust for her loved one while she made the hot chocolate. Has food ever been as lusciously sensual as presented in this book?

Let me count the ways? He didn't recount the fact that he "slapped" a fellow employee but obviously he recollects it since he told us about it.